Day Thirty-Seven

Day Thirty-Seven // April 8 // Abandoned Agendas

“For you will certainly carry out God’s purpose, however you act, but it makes a difference to you whether you serve like Judas or like John.” – C.S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain –

One of the disturbing moments of Holy Week is the moment when one of the 12 disciples, Judas, betrays Jesus for 30 pieces of silver. He had a first-hand seat to the greatest moment in history, and he missed what God was doing.

We remember that Judas was a zealot. He had a political agenda. He was looking for a military Messiah to restore the Davidic monarchy. He kept trying to force Jesus to be the One he wanted, rather than accepting who Jesus was.

Judas was saying to Jesus, “Read the signs. You are at the height of your popularity. The crowds are shouting

‘Hosanna – Save Us Now!’ You have just cleansed the Temple; You’ve shown your strength. You are teaching about the final days, inspiring the vision of God’s reign. Seize the moment. Let’s march on Rome.” But Jesus refused to meet his expectations.

Judas couldn’t adjust his agenda; and in bitterness, he betrayed God’s Son. We can ponder his motive. Was it disappointment? Was it an effort to force Jesus’ hand and inspire the others to take up a sword in retaliation? We can never know the heart of Judas, but we see clearly Jesus’ response. “Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end” the Scriptures tell us. Jesus continually shows us what love is all about. It is loyalty when plans fall apart. It is determination in chaos. It is that grit that refuses to walk away when the tide of public opinion turns. True love has a strong strand of stick-to-it-ness in its DNA. It is Peter who falls asleep in the garden when Jesus needed him most, but who woke up and defended Jesus with his sword against the armed guards. It is disciples lurking in the shadows during Jesus’ trial, afraid to speak up but too devoted to walk away. It is John and Mary at the foot of the cross with their hearts breaking at the injustice they could not stop.

Holy Week begs a question that causes us to squirm. Is our discipleship more like Judas’ or like John’s? Too often our commitment lasts until it ceases to be fun. It

lasts until it fails to meets our needs. We walk away from prayer when the answers don’t suit us. We want what we want, when we want it. And when anyone disappoints us, we move on. But we look back to Jesus, and we remember that there is a cost to love. There is a price for grace. And only when we understand the sacrifice of a great commitment can we plumb the depths of a great devotion. Benjamin Franklin once said, “Be slow in choosing a friend, and even slower in changing.”